Artists&#39; studio easel



Oct. 31, 1961 M; J. TOLEGIAN 3,006,107

ARTISTS STUDIO EASEL Filed Feb. 4, 1959 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 v 24 E154:- E155.

. J4 015 o m INVENTOR %72ueZ J YZ/gz'an ATTORNEYS fair This invention relates to a new and improved artists studio easel for holding a panel while painting thereon, whether the panel be a sheet of canvas secured to a stretcher or frame, or be of other form.

It is frequently desirable to raise or lower the panel to suit the artists convenience, and this has heretofore required the making of rather awkward easel adjustments which cannot be conveniently made even by an artist having full use of his hands and are even more diflicult for a physically handicapped person. Therefore, it is more or less frustrating to the artist when he must make such adjustments, and, moreover, there is danger of dropping a panel and/or smearing paint thereon.

The present invention has aimed to overcome such shortcomings of and difficulties experienced with conventional easels, by providing a novel construction in which the panel holding means is vertically shifted by electrically actuated means having one control switch for effecting panel raising and a second control switch for effecting panel lowering, said means being also effective to hold the panel at any elevation to which it may be adjusted.

A further object has been to provide novel holding means for the panel, said holding means having wheeled carriages movable along parallel substantially vertical tracks.

Another object has been to provide a lower panelengaging member having spurs to penetrate the lower edge of the panel, and an upper panel-engaging member having spurs to penetrate the upper edge of the panel, only said lower member being operated to raise or lower the panel while said upper member remains engaged with the panel by gravity.

Yet another object has been to provide releasable means for holding the upper member in an elevated outof-the-way position when placing a panel on the easel and when removing a panel from the easel.

A further object has been to provide a novel hinge connection between an easel base and a substantially vertical frame upon which the panel is to be supported, said frame being tiltable to dispose the panel in either a vertical or an inclined position, to suit requirements.

A still further object has been to provide an easel which may be easily moved forwardly and rearwardly when required, yet cannot move rearwardly under pressure from brush or spatula.

With the above and other objects in view, as will be presently apparent, the invention consists in general of certain novel details of construction, and combinations of parts, hereinafter fully described, illustrated in the accompanying drawings, and particularly claimed.

In the drawings, like characters of reference indicate like parts in the several views, and

FIGURE 1 is a front elevation;

FIGURE 2 is a left side elevation, partly broken away;

FIGURE 3 is a diagram of the electrical system;

FIGURES 4, 5 and 6 are fragmentary front elevations, showing modifications; and

FIGURE 7 is a fragmentary horizontal sectional view showing a further modification.

A horizontal base frame 10 is provided and includes parallel side bars 11 rigidly connected at their rear ends by a transverse bar 12. A horizontally elongated hinge 13 extends between the front ends of the side bars 11 and has two leaves 14 and 15. The leaf 14 is secured 3,006,107 Patented Get. 31, 1961 at its ends upon the front ends of the side bars 11 and holds these bar ends in fixed relation without requiring that another transverse bar, such as 12, be used. The ends of the leaf 15 are secured to the lower ends of the side bars 16 of a vertically elongated frame 17, and this frame is thus mounted on the base 10 for forward or rearward tilting to any position desired.

Brace bars 18 are pivoted at 19 to the rear end of the base frame 10 and are adjustably connected at 20 with the side bars 16 of the frame 17 to hold this frame in any selected position. The connecting means 2.0 preferably comprise slotted plates 21 behind and secured to the side bars 16, bolts 22 extending through the slots of said plates 21, and wing nuts 23 on said bolts.

The side bars 16 are connected rigidly by transverse bars 24, 25, 26 and 27. All of these bars are preferably formed from wood. The same is true of the base frame bars 11 and 12, and the brace bars 18'. However, a light-weight construction could be employed, if desired.

When the side bars 16 are of wood, two metal tracks 28 are secured to the inner sides of these bars and extend substantially throughout the lengths thereof. When a metal construction is employed, each side bar of the frame 17 may be a channel bar 1611, as seen in FIGURE 7, with one flange of this channel bar constituting a track 28a.

An upper angle bar 29 and a lower angle bar 30 are provided at the front of the frame 17 for holding a panel P upon which a picture is to be painted. The ends of both bars 29 and 30 are secured to wheeled carriages 31, the wheels 32 of which are grooved and engaged with the tracks 28 or 28a. These wheels preferably have ball bearings to rotate freely.

The upper angle'bar 29 has downwardly projecting spurs 33 to penetrate the upper edge of the panel P; and the lower angle bar 30 has upwardly projecting spurs 34 to penetrate the lower edge of saidpanel. Thus, the panel P is firmly held between the two bars 29 and 30, and when the lower bar 30 is raised or lowered, the panel will be correspondingly moved. When the lower bar 30 is raised, to raise the panel P, this panel pushes upwardly against the upper bar 29 and correspondingly raises this upper bar. However, when the lower bar 30 is lowered, the panel P and the upper bar 29 correspond! mgly descend by gravity. The lower bar 30 is raised or lowered, at the will of the operator, by electrically actuated means, as described below. In FIGURES l and 2, a vertical rack bar 35 is disposed centrally between the side bars 16 of the frame 17 and is secured at 36 to the transverse bars 25, 26 and 27 and to the hinge leaf 15. A reversible electric motor 37 1s dlsposed under and secured to the lower angle bar 30 and has a pinion 38 engaging the rack bar 35. This motor is of a common type including worm gearing for speed reduction and for holding the pinion 38 against tglrnmg by any extraneous force whenever the motor is 1 e.

One control switch 39 is provided to effect driving of the motor 37 in a direction to cause the pinion 38 to climb on the rack bar 35, thereby raising the bar 30 and the panel P. Another control switch 40 is provided to effect reverse rotation of the motor 37 to cause lowering of the bar 30 and the panel P. The control switches 39 and 40 are of push-button type and of self opening form, permitting the artist to readily cause raising or lowering of the panel P to any required position by pushing the proper button and allowing him to stopfsaid panel by releasing the button. Both control switches are mounted on a control panel 41 secured to the lower angle bar 30, and this panel is preferably-so located as to hide the motor 37.

A limit switch 42 is mounted on the upper end of one of the frame side bars 16 or 16a to be opened by one of the carriages 31 of the upper angle bar 29, to prevent accidental pushing of these carriages from the tracks 28 or 28a.

Stops 43 are provided to limit descent of the lower angle bar 30. These stops are in the downward paths of the lowermost of the carriage wheels 32 and are so positioned that by the time the wheels strike them, the pinion 38 has moved slightly from the lower end of the rack bar 35, thus preventing electrical trouble should the switch 40 be at that time still held in closed position.

In FIGURE 4,, a vertical screw 44 takes the place of the rack bar 35 and is engaged with a nut 45 secured to the lower angle bar 30. This screw is driven by a reversible reduction motor 46 controlled as above explained. The control switches 39a and 40a, however, are shown as mounted on one of the frame side bars 16.

A similar construction is shown in FIGURE 5, but a belt drive 47 is provided from the motor 46a to the screw 44a.

In FIGURE 6, a screw 48 is non-rotatably mounted on the frame 17 and is engaged by a nut 49 driven by worm gearing 50 and a reversible reduction motor 51. This motor is mounted on the lower angle bar 30 and the nut 49 is suitably carried by this bar. An arm 52 is shown secured to the motor 51 and having a running connection with the nut 49.

To hold the upper angle bar 29 in a raised out-of-theway position when placing a panel P on the easel, or when removing a panel, a spring detent 53 is secured to one of the side bars of the frame 17'. This detent may be easily released when a panel has been engaged with the lower spurs 34, allowing lowering of the bar 29 and engagement of its spurs 33 with said panel.

The front end of the base frame has floor-engaging rollers 54 mounted only for forward and rearward rolling. The rear end of said frame 10 has feet 55 of rubber or other suitable material to frictionally contact with the floor. These feet 55 prevent the easel from moving rearwardly under pressure from the artists brush or spatula. However, a forward pull on the vertical frame 17 relieves the friction between the feet 55 and the floor and allows easy movement of the easel on the rollers 54.

From the foregoing it will be seen that a novel and advantageous construction has been disclosed for attaining the desired ends. However, attention is invited to. the possibility of making variations within the scope of the invention. For example, foot actuated control switches could well be employed instead of hand actuated switches, or remote controls could be provided if desired.

I claim:

1. In an artists easel for supporting a picture panel while painting thereon, a base, a substantially vertical frame supported by said base, picture panel holding means mounted for up and down movement along said frame, said means including a lower panel engaging member and a separate and independently movable upper panel engaging member,.and electrically actuated power means for vertically moving said lower panel engaging member at the will of the artist and for holding said lower panel engaging member in any position to which it is moved, said electrical power means including a motor, an upswitch for causing operation of said motor in a direction to raise said panel holding means, and a down-switch for causing operation of said motor in the reverse direction to lower said panel holding means.

2. An artists easel for supporting a panel while painting thereon, a substantially vertical frame having substantially vertical parallel tracks, a lower horizontal panel supporting bar having wheeled carriages at its ends and engaged with said tracks, an upper panel engaging bar independently movable from said lower bar also having wheeled carriages at its ends and engaged with said tracks, said lower and upper bars having means to engage the lower and upper edges of the panel, respectively, and means for supporting said lower bar at any of various elevations, said upper bar being upwardly pushed by said panel when raising said lower bar, said upper bar being lowered by gravity when lowering said lower bar.

3. A structure as specified in claim 1, together with releasable means for holding said upper bar against descent when it is raised to the upper end of said frame for panel removal or for engagement of another panel with the easel.

4. A structure as set forth in claim 1, wherein said lower panel engaging member is provided with upwardly projecting spurs to penetrate the lower edge of said panel andsaid upper panel engaging member is provided with downwardly projecting spurs to penetrate the upper edge of said panel.

5. In an artists easel for supporting a picture panel while painting thereon, a base, a substantially vertical frame supported by said base, said frame being provided with vertical tracks, picture panel holding means mounted for up and down movement along said frame, said means including a lower panel engaging member and a separate and independently movable upper panel engaging member, each of the ends of said upper and lower panel engaging members being provided with a pair of spaced track engaging wheels in vertical alignment, and electrically actuated power means for vertically moving said lower panel engaging member at the will of the artist and for holding said lower panel engaging member in any position to which it is moved.

6. In an artists easel for supporting a picture panel while painting thereon, a base, a substantially vertical frame supported by said base, picture panel holding means mounted for up and down movement along said frame, an electrically actuated power means for vertically moving said panel holding means at the will of the artist and for holding said panel holding means in any position to which it is moved, said electrical means including an electric motor, an up-switch for causing operation of said motor in a direction to raise said panel holding means, and a down-switch for causing operation of said motor in the reverse direction to lower said panel holding means, said electrically actuated power means further including a screw rotatably mounted on said frame and driven by said motor, and a nut engaging said screw and secured to an element of said panel holding means.

7. In an artists easel for supporting a picture panel while painting thereon, a base, a substantially vertical frame supported by said base, picture panel holding means mounted for up and down movement along said frame, and electrically actuated power means for vertically moving said panel holding means at the will of the artist and for holding said panel holding means in any position to which it is moved, said electrical means including an electric motor, an up-switch for causing operation of said motor in a direction to raise said panel holding means, and a down-switch for causing operation of said motor in the reverse direction to lower said panel holding means, said electrically actuated means further including a screw secured to said frame and a nut engaging said screw, said nut being driven by said motor, said nut and motor being mounted on an element of said panel holding means.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,077,998 Purkey Nov. 11, 1913 2,771,706 Johnson Nov. 27, 1956 2,828,166 Herring Mar. 25, 1958 2,829,814 Warner Apr. 8, 1958 FOREIGN PATENTS 16,779 Great Britain Aug. 18, 1905 

